gwinnettcounty, georgia January 2014 State of the County · Water Resources • Replaced more than 11 miles of water mains • Reduced water main breaks by more than 40 percent through

gwinnettcounty, georgia January 2014

State of the CountyLocal Economy, Finances, and Gwinnett’s Excellent Credit History• Population: 855,459 (Moody’s Analytics, 2013 estimate) • Gwinnett had 438,662 employed residents in November 2013 and unemployment fell

to 6.3 percent, down from 7.2 percent in November 2012 and lowest since fall 2008 (Georgia Department of Labor, preliminary, not seasonally adjusted)

• AAA credit ratings with Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investor Services, and Standard and Poor’s since 1997; only 40 counties out of 3,000 in the U.S. hold this distinction

• County pension plan ranks in the top 1 percent of all public plans under $1 billion in assets for the past five years or since inception (gross of fees and top 6 percent on a net basis)

• First large county and second overall to receive Georgia Department of Revenue approv-al of the 2013 tax digest

2014 Adopted Budget• $1.5 billion balanced budget preserves core ser-

vices and focuses on priorities set by commis-sioners; operating budget totals $1.027 billion and capital budget totals $485.6 million

• Addresses increased health care costs, employee retention and competitiveness issues, legislative/external impacts, and the 2014 SPLOST program

• Holds the line on property tax rates, continues 90-day job vacancy policy, expands community outreach efforts, and adds staff for two more medical units

• Anticipates a slight improvement in the tax digest• Four citizen reviewers assisted Chairman Nash

and staff with allocating resources to meet Board of Commissioners’ priorities

Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST)• 2014 SPLOST approved by voters November 5, 2013 • Current SPLOST ends March 31, 2014; new program begins April

1, 2014• Three-year program will raise an estimated $498 million• Shared between Gwinnett County and 16 cities:

– County: 78.9 percent– Cities: 21.1 percent

• County will spend 70 percent (approximately $275 million) to fund transportation projects – roads, bridges, intersections, sidewalks

• Remaining 30 percent will fund other purposes – facilities/equip-ment for public safety, recreation, library relocations and renova-tion, and senior services facilities

Community Services• Cooperative Extension Service presented 1,083 youth, family, and environmental programs• Elections conducted two elections, processed more than 74,000 voter transactions, and

maintained voter registration list of 478,464 registered voters • Gwinnett libraries own more than a million books, magazines, e-books, and media items and provide ac-

cess to 250 online databases at 15 branches• Library staff answered more than 81,000 questions to the AskGCPL phone and email service and 4,880

library volunteers donated 37,000 hours • Health and Human Services served an estimated 434,552 residents at centers in Norcross, Buford, and

Centerville• Senior Services provided 132,211 congregate and home-delivered meals; new kitchen opens in 2014• Environmental and Heritage Center secured more than $600,000 in grants, sponsorships, and exhibits• Harbins and Rabbit Hill Parks added youth baseball and softball facilities in 2013• Major projects underway at Bethesda Park softball complex, Dacula Park concessions/restroom building,

Environmental and Heritage Center festival field and expanded parking, Harbins Community Park pavilion/playground area, Ivy Creek Greenway phase I, section 3, Lions Club Park renovation, and Little Mulberry Park phase 3 pavilion, playground, trail extension, and disc golf course

• Community Services worked with 973 community partners to provide services and volunteers donated more than 965,930 hours of service

Planning, Economic Development, and Revitalization• Single-family residential building permits doubled in 2013 over 2012, highest since 2007• Commissioners established the Greater Gwinnett Place Opportunity Zone and reset five

existing Tax Allocation Districts • Initiated project to recalibrate the 2030 Unified Plan with post-recession outcomes• Unified Development Ordinance will modernize/streamline plan review/permitting pro-

cess and create new mixed-use zoning districts to facilitate revitalization/redevelopment• Led creation of new non-profit entity within Partnership Gwinnett to promote transpar-

ency in economic development efforts

Water Resources• Replaced more than 11 miles of water mains • Reduced water main breaks by more than 40

percent through better pressure management• New leak detection equipment found 100 unre-

ported leaks, saving 150 million gallons of water and $782,000 annually

• Installed standby generators at 229 raw sewage pump stations

• Inspected 20,100 valves over past two years and 8,172 manholes in 2013

• 70 percent of work hours now dedicated to pro-active, preventive repairs

Public Safety• Hired/trained 50 police officers and 25

firefighter/EMTs• 911 Center dispatched 838,516 police

calls and 66,831 medical/fire calls• Police solved 86 percent of homicide

cases (national average: 64 percent)• Built new Fire Maintenance Repair Cen-

ter, began Fire Academy improvements • Nearly 9,000 attended annual Public

Safety Festival at Coolray Field Home of the Gwinnett Braves

• ITS completed records management and radio systems upgrades

• Animal Shelter built community partner-ships, held three major adoption events, and reduced euthanasia rate by 23 per-cent (down 41 percent from 2011)

• Police received national “gold standard of excellence” CALEA reaccreditation

• Fire staff performed 13,448 fire and life-safety inspections and delivered 1,179 education programs, which in-cluded life-saving CPR/AED training for 60,066 residents

• 683 fire volunteers contributed 4,523 hours and 298 police volunteers gave 18,798 hours

• Georgia State Patrol opened a new post with officers funded by Georgia DOT

Green Government• Atlanta Regional Commission Silver

Level Certified Green Community • Three departments reduced fuel use

by 19 percent over last two years• Solid waste haulers collected 189,142

tons of residential waste, 6.6 tons of yard waste, and 29,742 tons of recy-clables (recycling rate: 13.6 percent)

• Annual recycling events collected 22 tons of electronics, 12.5 tons of paper, 12 tons of tires, 1,150 gallons of paint, 1,000 pounds of batteries, and 631 pairs of sneakers

• Rebates helped homeowners replace 4,400 inefficient toilets, saving 31 mil-lion gallons per year and 100 tons of porcelain were recycled as road base

Award-Winning Government• 2013 Achievement Awards from the National Association of

Counties for Volunteer Gwinnett, Code of Ethics training, SeniorBSafe, and Waterfowl Management Plan

• 2013 Awards of Excellence from the National Association of County Information Officers for Volunteer Gwinnett and Code of Ethics training

• Clean Air Campaign 2013 PACE Awards – UPS Exemplary Die-sel Idle Reduction Program and Local Government Champion

• 2013 Environmental/Conservation Award and Park and Recre-ation Program Award from National Association of County Parks and Recreation Officials and Agency of the Year from Georgia Recreation and Park Association, District 7

• Gwinnett County Cooperative Extension Service staff re-ceived numerous state and national awards for excellence

• Governor’s Public Safety Act of Heroism Awards to four SWAT team members and to four firefighters

• Gwinnett Fire named Outstanding Agency of the Year by SafeKids of Georgia

• Education Excellence Award from the Solid Waste Association of North America

• 2013 Outstanding Public Member Agency Award for leadership in promoting Intelligent Transportation Systems goals

• Natural Environment Project of the Year 2012 – 2013 to Wa-ter Resources’ Stormwater Management from the Georgia Section of American Society of Civil Engineers

• Distinguished Budget Award and Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Fi-nance Officers Association

• Read about more awards at www.gwinnettcounty.com

GwinnettJusticeandAdministrationCenter•75LangleyDrive•Lawrenceville,GA30046•www.gwinnettcounty.com

General Government• New service-delivery agreements are now in effect

with cities• A new morgue/medical examiner facility will be funded

by the 2014 SPLOST• Gwinnett maintained 11 fuel sites, providing six million

gallons of fuel to 6,200 vehicles• Building Maintenance serviced 221 facilities with more

than 2.3 million square feet• Mail Services processed 1.2 million pieces of first class

mail and delivered more than 55,000 pieces of express mail • Fleet sold $1.2 million in surplus inventory in 2013, including $1.1 million in

vehicle sales • County achieved 98 percent availability for its fleet of 2,979 vehicles• Human Resources posted 324 positions, received 51,066 applications, and

processed 134 new hires• Purchasing staff negotiated savings of $2.3 million • Corrections provided 197,994 hours of offender labor worth $2 million to

County departments, cities, and community improvement districts• Volunteers contributed 1,022,989 hours valued at more than $22 million

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Transportation• Opened a Diverging Diamond Interchange on Pleasant Hill Road at I-85

with a second DDI under construction on Jimmy Carter Boulevard at I-85

• Working with Georgia DOT to widen State Route 20 from Peachtree Industrial Boulevard to the Chattahoochee River; GDOT concurrently working on bridge replacement/widening

• New bridges built on Killian Hill Road at Yellow River and Cruse Road at Sweetwater Creek

• Widened Pleasant Hill Road from Buford Highway to Howell Ferry Road• Added 17.7 miles of fiber optic cable, 28 cameras, and 35 traffic signals

to the Traffic Control Center • Expanded the Intelligent Transportation Systems network, Advanced Traveler Information System,

GC Smart Commute website, and department’s coordination with public safety partners• Retimed 102 traffic signals in nine corridors and installed or rebuilt 21 traffic signal installations• Completed 13 Quick-Fix projects, rehabilitated six bridges, and resurfaced 135 miles of roadway• Citizens Project Selection Committee began to prioritize projects in 10 categories for the 2014

SPLOST program• Gwinnett Transit had 1,845,540 boardings in 2013, improved local routes with direct service to

Doraville MARTA, and installed automated dispatch/vehicle location system• Rebuilt Briscoe Field taxiway and replaced incandescent lighting with energy-saving LED fixtures